Plaguing Nightmares
by Nightmaric
Summary: [Sora & Roxas. NonSlash. Oneshot.] Everyone has nightmares. But when a hero has one of his past battles, they do not simply come and go. They remain and haunt, afflicting the mind.


**Author's Comments**

For Halloween. I apologise for the one day delay.

Sadly, this is not Roxas x Sora.

**Summary**  
Everyone has nightmares. But when a hero has one of his past battles, they do not simply come and go. They remain and haunt, afflicting the mind.

**Disclaimer**  
Characters belong to Square Enix.

* * *

**Plaguing Nightmares**

"_You can't run forever, Keyblade Master."_

_The Kingdom Key gave no assurance as Sora looked about wildly._

_Surrounded. All around him were Shadows, each standing so close to the other that they seemed like Darkness itself._

_Their golden eyes glowed eerily and if Sora was honest with himself, it scared him._

_He was _terrified.

"_The Darkness will swallow you. The Light will never win."_

_Shut up, he tried to scream in fury, but not a sound escaped him._

_Sora tried again and again, but his voice was stolen._

_He never noticed the Shadows creeping closer until it was too late._

_He never noticed until the Kingdom Key faded away and he was plunged into the never-ending Darkness._

--

Sora screeched as he sat up on his makeshift bed, panting harshly. Cold sweat dripped down the side of his face and down his neck.

Almost in paranoia, the brunette switched on his table lamp, if only to chase away the dark of the night surrounding his room.

Minutes passed and he eventually calmed down, but his heart continued racing and to his ears, his breathing was far too loud.

_**...Sora?**_

A voice called out softly, startling him badly enough to cause him to fall off his bed.

"Who's there!?" he demanded, the Kingdom Key ready in his hand.

_**You. Me. Whatever. Calm down, Sora.**_

Sora eventually recognized the voice, and crawled back into his bed in a sudden exhaustion. _What is it, Roxas?_

_**...I saw it.**_

An embarrassed flush spread over the brunette's face as he leaned against the window ledge and he made a feeble attempt of covering it with his hands before he remembered that the blonde was in his head. Resigned, he sighed softly. _So?_

_**Are you alright?**_ Roxas sounded uncertain.

_I will be._ Sora smiled faintly a moment later, feeling his heart calming bit by bit now that he knew someone was with him in essence, if not presence. _I'd feel better if it was already day or if Riku or Kairi was beside me. But it isn't and they aren't, so I'll just have to deal with it. I'll be fine._

_**...Do you want to talk about it?**_ There was a pause before Roxas decided to add in, in an attempt of getting the brunette to speak, _**People usually feel better when they talk about their nightmares.**_

Sora exhaled loudly and tilted his head, resting on the window ledge and gazing at the starry night sky. _I'd rather not_, he replied._ It... isn't the first time I have to deal with them anyway._ He decided to add reluctantly.

_**Do they haunt you often?**_ Roxas asked in mild curiosity.

_Sometimes_, Sora answered truthfully, knowing it was pointless to lie to someone who was practically him. _No one knows about them. Well, except you, now._

_**How come I've never seen them before?**_

Sora grinned wryly. _I guess I'm just that good at keeping us separated in a way while you're in me. Truth be told, I never expected to have a nightmare about the Worlds and Kingdom Hearts after Riku, Kairi and I returned._

_**I... felt what you felt in it.**_ Roxas' voice was soft and hesitant. _**How did you keep smiling and fighting when you felt like that?**_

The brunette's sky blue eyes fell close as he gathered his thoughts. It was not long before he opened his eyes again, however, afraid to see even the Darkness behind his eyelids. _I was more afraid of being alone. Sometimes, fear has the power to drive you on despite the odds._

_**Why didn't you tell anyone of them? It would have lightened the burden at the very least, right?**_

"It isn't as easy as you make it out to be, Roxas," Sora answered outloud, sighing softly. "My nightmares were mine alone. It would've been unfair to drop it on Donald, Goofy and Jiminy when they had their own problems and the fate of the Worlds on resting on them."

_**The fate of the Worlds rested on you far more than it did on them and you know it, Sora.**_ Roxas sounded bitter and Sora could almost see ice blue eyes glaring at him.

The brunette gave no reply and only smiled dryly when he heard the blonde snort in his mind.

Sora knew that though Roxas did not understand his reasoning completely, at the very least, he could comprehend why masks were needed sometimes.

He was just glad that there was at least one person he did not have to keep his Hero façade up for. The brunette sighed softly, in both exhaustion and relief.

_I'm tired._


End file.
